


catch me if you can

by mwestbelle



Series: Tumblr Prompts [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bisexual Character, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Modern Era, No Winter Soldier AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-08
Updated: 2013-12-08
Packaged: 2018-01-04 02:31:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1075483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mwestbelle/pseuds/mwestbelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Bucky never fell, but he and Steve both ended up in modern NYC.</p>
            </blockquote>





	catch me if you can

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on tumblr, written for paper-kraken's prompt: "Perhaps one where Steve catches Bucky before he falls? (these are all but impossible to find, I'd love for Bucky to actually avoid the whole horror show his life turned into)"

After the Battle of New York, there’s no hiding that Captain America and Bucky Barnes, America’s golden and silver boy, are somehow back. Debate stirs across the internet and the popular media: are they clones? android doubles? the grandsons of the original duo? But this is a card SHIELD is happy to play, and soon everyone knows that it’s true - Cap and Bucky are alive somehow, rescued seventy years later after their famous heroic descent into the ocean, and back to protect the world from evil once more. It makes people feel safe again, gives them hope. A nasty subset of the population make a lot of noise about how this is heralding a return to the golden days and good old fashioned American values, when people knew their place and you could solve your problems by socking Hitler on the jaw. These people might not have been so pleased if they knew how SHIELD found the Greatest American Heroes in the ice, with Bucky Barnes curled up in his captain’s lap, the two of them holding tight.

To be honest, Steve doesn’t know how he feels about that either.

_"There’s still time for you to take the jump," Steve shouts over the roar of air in the plane. He’s got no choice but to take this plane down, but there’s no reason Bucky should have to go down with him. "Grab the ‘chute and go, Stark will find you."_

_"If you think anything could make me leave you here, you’re dumber than I thought." Bucky is holding on to the back of his seat, knuckles brushing his shoulders, and Steve hates himself for feeling reassured. He just barely caught Bucky when he fell out of the train, dragged him back in, and for what? To let him die like this? "If we’re doing this thing, we’re doing it together."_

_"You don’t have to be a hero, Buck. Go home, get married, I don’t want you to—"_

_"Fuck you," Bucky says suddenly, cutting him off. And then he’s moving, and his weight is heavy on Steve’s lap, and his lips are hot on Steve’s. It’s confusing, the adrenaline making his whole body hum, and he barely knows what’s happening. All he can feel is Bucky’s mouth and then - and then the cold rush of the water._

You do crazy things when you’re about to die, Steve reckons. Lots of people do, and neither of them had any way of knowing they weren’t about to die. He never thought that he would be thankful for Zola, the thought of it still brings up bile in the back of his throat, but he is glad that even the bastardized formula Bucky got allowed him to survive the ice. Steve doesn’t know what he’d do here alone.

Bucky, on the other hand, has taken to the present day like a fish to water, no surprise. He was always slick and adaptable, and after a few months he has a Twitter account and a StarkPhone _and_ an “aww shucks, doll, I’m just no good with this newfangled tech” smile and shrug that even gets SHIELD agents cooing over him. The only thing that he hasn’t got, apparently, is the need to explain that kiss to Steve.

He tries to be respectful of Bucky’s feelings. He tries to wait. But Bucky is telling Good Morning America all about the crash, in thrilling detail with pantomime, and nowhere in the story does he mention, “and by the way, I died kissing my best friend, Captain America, but haven’t given him any hints about whether I’d like to keep on doing that now that we’re alive.”

The nerves keep him from mentioning anything the rest of the day, over lunch with the other Avengers and a debriefing with Hill, but once they’re back to the apartment SHIELD rented for them (no one asked them if they’d rather have separate housing, and Steve’s never really thought about it) he can’t wait any longer.

"Bucky, about the crash."

He’s surprised to see how cold Bucky’s expression goes, face shutting down like it does when he knows he’s facing a fight he can’t win. Like the face he had on when Steve saved him from that awful HYDRA base.

"What about it? You got a problem now, Cap, after all this time?"

"That’s not why—"

"Because we were going down. We were about to die, and god forbid I wanted to go out with one last good memory." Bucky scowls, and Steve hates to see him tense like this. "That I had the gall to be a fucking queer."

"Bucky—"

"You want to slug me?" Bucky tips his chin up. "Take your best swing, Cap, you wouldn’t be the first."

Steve does want to punch him, for being such an idiot, but he can hear the ache behind the bravado. Bucky’s been thinking about this for a long time, probably before the ice, and he thinks he knows how the conversation goes. Steve’s been jealous of how well he’s adapted to the modern world, but he didn’t realize all the reasons Bucky might be eager for it. All the dark things that were still holding him in the past.

"I want to try kissing you when we’re not about to die, actually," Steve says, trying to keep his voice as even as possible.

That clearly throws Bucky off, but he keeps glaring, even though his eyes dart like trapped prey. “Don’t joke about this, Steve, it ain’t funny.”

Steve spreads his hands, palms up. “No joke.”

"You like girls," Bucky says, accusing. "You telling me Peggy Carter wasn’t the one making you salute back then?"

"I did love her." Steve folds his arms across his chest. "But there’s this thing I heard about, and it’s called bisexuality. And that’s what I am." Tony had taken somewhat inordinate glee in explaining the concept to him in way too much detail, but Steve is glad to know. It’s nice to be confident, to put a name to a feeling. "And I want to kiss you, because while a plane is going down is about the worst time I can think of to kiss somebody."

He holds his breath after that, waiting for Bucky’s reaction, but Bucky _smiles_. A little crooked sheepish one, but it’s enough. “Thought it was gonna be my only chance.”

"That’s because you’re an idiot." Steve smiles and comes a little closer, slowly like Bucky is a skittish animal. He does look like he’s about to bolt for a minute, but then he’s looking up at Steve.

"Never gonna get used to you being taller," he complains, startling a laugh out of Steve. Steve bends a little, and Bucky tips his face up, and they’re so close that Steve can feel Bucky’s breath on his lips. It’s fast, and Steve can imagine Bucky’s heart pounding in his chest, just like his own. "Steve," Bucky says, sounding a little strangled. "Are you sure—"

Steve kisses him in answer, and he was right. It’s so much better when they’re not about to die.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm always accepting new prompts on [my tumblr!](http://villainsexuale.tumblr.com) Come hang out with me, leave me prompts, good times.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[podfic] catch me if you can](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1584050) by [mwestbelle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mwestbelle/pseuds/mwestbelle), [reena_jenkins](https://archiveofourown.org/users/reena_jenkins/pseuds/reena_jenkins)




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